Yeah, Apple has a good track record for software undates. I actually replaced a perfectly good phone just because it lacks updates.
Honestly, that's why I want a Linux phone, for essentially endless updates. My old 2009 Linux PC still got updates when I eventually upgraded the hardware, and I want the same to be true of my phone. Unfortunately, Linux phones don't meet my base requirements, but hopefully that'll change by the time I need another.
That's the thing. Apple has that track record already. This years iOS update will be available for phones released as far back as 2017. And that's not a recent development - 4+ years have been the norm with iOS devices for a long time, while many Android phones have suffered from much faster obsolescence.
Google have yet to prove that they can fulfill this promise.
Idk, they've done pretty well with their established update cycle so far. AFAIK, Apple doesn't announce a minimum support cycle, they just announce when devices lose support. Google announces minimum support cycle, and so far has stuck to it.
Maybe Apple is better in this regard, idk, but so far Google has kept their word with their Pixel devices, so I don't see any reason to doubt them going forward.